Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Less than three weeks after 21 skiers were injured in a ski lift accident at Mont-Sainte-Anne, in Quebec, a second ski lift accident occurred at the same ski resort. Lawyers charged with the class action lawsuit against Mont Sainte-Anne in the first ski lift accident filed a second class action lawsuit against the ski resort in April.
The gondola was equipped with 80 cabins, each with a capacity of eight passengers. About 20 skiers suffered injuries, and one individual had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance.
According to the ski lift class action proposal, the management of the ski resort put its financial interests before the safety of skiers, by opening the gondola lifts on March 1. Mont-Sainte-Anne allegedly reopened just in time for Spring Break, despite the previous ski lift accident that occurred on Feb. 21.
The law firm charged with the ski lift class action lawsuit claims that the gondola recurrence is all the more serious because “the means required to prevent such an accident from happening again were not taken.”
“This recklessness and negligence on the part of Mont-Sainte-Anne would have once again jeopardized the physical integrity of the skiers,” making punitive damages an obvious claim, according to the application for authorization.
Plaintiff Mélanie Anctil, a resident of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, suffered a sprained knee and serious bruises to her head and shoulder following the sudden stop of the ski lift. The ski lift class action lawsuit alleges that the gondolas swayed heavily upon abruptly stopping, and that the evacuation took over an hour.
“Mrs. Anctil has never been so frightened. She thought she was going to die,” according to the ski lift class action. Mélanie alleges that she has not been able to return to work since the ski lift accident and estimates her damages to be $50,000 for injuries, $2,500 for broken equipment and $3,500 for lost wages.
The ski lift class action lawsuit alleges that Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort failed to fulfil its duty to provide skiers with safe ski lifts. The damages sought on behalf of Class Members, who include those who were on the ski lift during the accident and suffered material damage or physical injuries, are yet to be determined. The class action lawsuit seeks an additional $10,000 for each Class Member in punitive damages.
Marcel Gagnon, who initiated the first ski lift class action, is claiming a total of $22,000, and is not seeking punitive damages.
Repeating Accident: Twenty-one Injured Just 19 Days Earlier
The lawyers representing Mélanie and Class Members in the ski lift class action lawsuit, highlight that the ski resort had ample time to investigate and fix any issues with the ski lift following the first accident, occurring just 19 days earlier.
The first ski lift incident was almost identical to the second: “During the second incident, an unsolicited emergency stop caused the cable and gondolas to stop. It still swung pretty much to a stop. We evacuated the line backwards to have a reception and treatment area at the base of the gondolas with a doctor,” explained the general manager of the station, Maxime Cretin.
“It’s not the first time I’ve had the emergency brake applied, but this time it happened extremely suddenly,” according to Michel Tremblay, a skier present during the first incident. “It was going back and forth, but also from side to side, and our gondola ended up at 180°. We were in the middle of the climb, but we didn’t have any injuries among the six of us on board. Some people we know suffered concussions. Some of the gondolas had glass shattered. We had a good scare.”
Skiers present during the ski lift accident believe that the injuries sustained could have been much worse. According to them, the gondola windows would have shattered by a collision with the pylons, and passengers could have smashed the Plexiglas with their bodies.
“The passengers sit opposite each other in the gondola. And when the gondola is at 180°, automatically, people are thrown forward and can break the glass. I’ve heard that one person was held back so that he wouldn’t fall down the gondola after shattering the window,” according to a skier on the lift during the accident.
Have you suffered injuries as a result of a ski lift accident? Share your story with us in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiff and proposed Class Members are represented by Tremblay Bois Mignault Lemay S.E.N.C.R.L.
The Mont-Sainte-Anne Ski Lift Class Action Lawsuit is Mélanie Anctil v. Station Mont-Sainte-Anne Inc, Case No. 200-06-000244-205, in the Superior Court of Québec, Canada.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
DR Power Equipment recall issued for 58K leaf blowers, vacuums due to laceration risk
May 9, 2024 | Product Recalls
One thought on Skiers Injured in Ski Lift Accident Launch Second Class Action Lawsuit
Hi
Wife and I were involved in a ski lift chair accident a few weeks ago. We were standing in place waiting for a double chair when the chair came out of the cabin very quickly and the operator missed grabbing it. He was unable to properly position the chair properly between us. The chair struck us quite hard and knocked us forward to the ground. The chair hit me in the legs and back but the middle bar struck my wife in the shoulder area. She was immobilized in a stretcher and taken to the ski patrol center. She was then transported to hospital and treated for a separated shoulder and two breaks in her arm. Should we take action against the ski hill for defective equipment and operator error?